User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Rob
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: April 5, 2012

Bottom Line:

Have had a pair for over ten years now and have no complains other than when I first bought them and they caused my amp to shut down. Amp was sent back to NAD 3 or 4 times and it ended up that I had a bad woofer that was shorting out the amp. It was a nightmare after spending thousands of dollars on a new system. Me and the dealer couldn't find the problem until the woofer stopped working altogether. Speakers sounded great until the woofer went silent. Replacement was sent with no trouble from PSB and I installed it myself with no troubles for around 14 years now. I was also VERY unhappy with the bass from them for the first 3 months, but the dealer was right about the need to break them in. They sounded better as time went on. If I could go back in time I would buy the same pair all over again.

I was lucky enough to find a pair of Dark Cherry Gold I's local, for a great price. Personally I love the way they look. The build is solid, top to bottom.

I have had several pairs of loudspeakers here in my home in the last two years. They outperform anything elce in this price range that I have come across.
The Gold I's sound so much more robust and deliver a full measure of dynamic bass that is neither boomy or sloppy. The mids are detailed and smooth. The highs are airy and they image very well for a large floorstander. Very close to the sound of the Vandersteen 2ce sigs except the Gold I's seem to image better and catch more detail in the music.
They also can play at higher volumes with ease and have a good all around balance to them.
Given the price and the quality of sound that these deliver I have to give them 5 stars all around!

I have owned the original Stratus gold for 10 years and been very satisfied. Although I can afford to buy speakers quite a bit more expensive (after all, Im driving them with $20,000 worth of amplifiers) so far I have not heard a speaker (and in New York City you can hear just about everything available) at any price point that seriously challenges this speaker in my system.

I am bi-amping them with four Cary 805b (211 output tube)mono-blocks and a Cary 306/200 CD player, no pre-amp. KCAG interconnects and Tara the One speaker wire hook it all up.

My musical taste is Classical and some Jazz. Particularly on large scale orchestral and choral recordings the Gold's excel.

I would recommend these speakers to any serious classical music lover. Power and majesty they project in spades!

Unlike some reviewers here, I have found this speaker to be very room placement dependent to achieve the stunning results they are capable of. They can sound either bright (to close to un-treated side walls) or boomy (to close to back wall) in the wrong place. Bi-amping also makes a huge improvement, at least if using lower powered tube amps, as I am. I have not found them as difficult to drive, though, as others have stated. I was very pleased with them when I had only two Cary 805's on them.

One could spend quite a bit more money and not get better sound from a speaker.

Should have done this a while ago. I first tried the Stratus Gold in 1995 while my Acoustat 2+2's were being looked after, the dealer I was working with loaned the Gold's to me so I had something to listen to. I was driving them with a Classe Audio Ten, and for a few weeks with a Classe Audio Fifteen. Really enjoyed them...but the Acoustat's came back better then new and I returned them.

Zing ahead to 2003, was looking for a speaker that was not an electrostatic but would keep me happy. Tried alot of gear, then I remembered my time with those Gold's in 1995, went looking for a pair. Found a dealer, had a pair on the floor he was looking to sell for a decent buck - I bought em. Driven with a Classe Audio Fifteen, front ended with a Classe Audio CDP.5, and all controlled by a Luxman C-05...beautiful. I really enjoy these speakers. Ya, some wankers get on here and trash them, seems unlikely they've ever heard them.

The Goldi is quite difficult to drive, in fact I've added a second Fifteen, bridged that gives me almost 1400 watts into a 4 ohm load, but it gives the Goldi life. You have to hear these big fella's when you feed them well, they bring life to the music. Vocals are 'right', and that includes female vocals. The top end is 'airy', with one Fifteen they can become harsh at high volumes, with the second Fifteen and almost limitless power they don't sound anything other than great. The bass is amazing, and I know bass, I've owned some of the best bass monsters out there. The bass from the Goldi's is not boomy, not bouncy, in fact it sounds like the bass you hear at a live event. Compared to the B&w N803 the Goldi is just plain better in the bottom end, and at quite a reduction in price. As for imaging, I would rate the Goldi's very high. They place instruments very well, in fact I'd say they'll put them wherever your front end tells them to.

Met a gent in Mississauga Ontario that was using the Goldi driven by a big Krell and front ended by a Linn LP12...just plain sweet. He had concluded the same thing I did, he could afford far more expensive loudspeakers but the return in sound quality wouldn't warrant it.

All in all, I'm very impressed by these big guys. If you've got some current give them a try, if not, move on to another speaker.

Best value for the money. These speakers are very easy to drive. Ten year ago when I first bought these beautiful speakers, I was totally satisfied even I was using a Yamaha RXV-480 to drive them. During the following 10 years, I'v added McCormack DNA0,5-amp, and TLC-preamp, Marantz CD-67SE(all from used market). This setup cost me less than $3000. What a deal? Just pure audiophile Class B setup. PSB Gold is excellent for Piano, Violin, RockNRoll. Even though lately I added ML aerius (same stererophile B class speaker) for vocal and violin (The designer use to play violin in Canada).